A day in the life of Chief Eddie Rodriguez

inmaricopa.com is pleased to announce its newest monthly feature, A Day in the Life. This monthly article chronicles a typical day of one of our Maricopa neighbors. Whether a local political, civic or business leader or someone who works to better our community out of the spotlight (e.g. our teachers), we hope this feature will provide additional perspective and insight into what makes our citizens and community great. Read on to learn about our fire chief in the inaugural issue:

Chief Eddie Rodriguez wears many hats: Fire Chief, administrator, and even grant writer. When he gets up at 6 a.m. (unless he’s filling in for an absent school district bus driver), he knows he’ll probably be wearing all his hats that day.

Maricopa born and raised in a family of eight children, Eddie Rodriguez married his Maricopa High School sweetheart, Lucy Aviles. They have two children, a daughter Ana Maria, 25, and a son Eddie Ray, 23, who recently hired on with the Maricopa Fire Department (MFD). “He’ll have to work twice as hard,” said the Chief and proud dad.

Rodriguez also has a two-year-old grandson. “It’s true what they say. You enjoy grandchildren twice as much as you did your kids.”

When he was in high school, the Chief worked for former chief Don Pearce at the Napa Auto Parts store, a job he held for 14 years. He started out as a stocker, became a counter clerk, and ended up in the shop utilizing his newly acquired mechanic’s training.

In 1981, Pearce asked him to join the fire department, which consisted of seven or eight volunteers. “I thought, gee, that would be fun,” explained Rodriguez. It was fun until he saw his first fatality. “That really bothered me. Now I can just do the job and hope that person rests in peace.”

Rodriguez became a captain in the 1990’s, then Assistant Chief and Fire Chief in 2002. He left a position with the Maricopa Unified School District’s Transportation Department in 2004, after being there since 1993, to become full-time Chief. Rodriguez, Fire District Secretary Cindy Inskeep and Captain Dan Ashton are the only full time, paid personnel at MFD.

Currently there are 11 volunteer firefighters. “We have to have six more paid positions by the end of February,” explained the Chief. “Our goal is to utilize our volunteers for these positions.” The added personnel will provide manpower available 24 hours a day, seven days each week.

Chief Rodriguez is at the station by 8 a.m. to review the previous evening’s incident reports. Then he’s in his office handling administrative duties. “For the past few months it’s been paperwork all day,” he noted. Land acquisition is the primary focus with a proposal pending for the construction of a second station at the intersection of Smith-Enke and Porter Roads.

A future, third station would be located south of town. Construction designs, equipment needs, job descriptions, hiring procedures and pension plans for new and existing personnel as well as the hiring of a consultant are all part of his responsibilities.

After a lunch break at home, Rodriguez is back at the station checking on his equipment and his firefighters. “Anything that has been used has to be cleaned, replaced or restocked,” he explained. “In the afternoon our firefighters do physical fitness training, but I exercise at home.” Instead, the Chief is back in his office paying bills, doing the payroll, and, sometimes, writing grants with the assistance of Inskeep and Stephanie Opstad.

A recent FEMA grant in the amount of $134,633 provided 20 self-contained breathing apparatuses (SCBA) for Maricopa firefighters. Thirteen digital radio units were purchased through a $17,000 Rural Fire Assistance Grant.

Usually the Chief is home by 5 or 6 p.m. “It’s been more like nine the last few weeks,” he said. He is at home unless he is attending a City Council, school board, Planning and Zoning Commission, local Fire District or Fire District board meeting. He is also a member of the Pinal County Fire Chiefs Association.

In addition to his daytime duties, both Chief Rodriguez and Captain Dan Ashton are always on call. “It could be 2 a.m. or 2 p.m.,” the Chief noted. He is at every commercial or structural fire and every major motor vehicle fire or accident.

Asked what he liked most about his job, Chief Rodriguez responded, “The community. I’ve known about 90 percent of them, and the new people are really friendly. I welcome all of them to our community. It’s a great time to be in Maricopa.” What does he like least? “Sitting in the office doing paperwork. I’m an outdoor person.”

Rodriguez’s overall goal is to provide protection for the lives of residents and his firefighters as well as their property. “My present goal is to hire full-time personnel, to build additional stations and to add trucks and equipment that are consistent in design. We want to build stations once and do it right.”

“The job is still fun,” according to the Chief. “Sure, there are some headaches, but I’m ready for challenges as they come.”

No matter what hat he is wearing, you can bet that Chief Eddie Rodriguez will get the job done in a dedicated, professional manner and he will do it well.